Euphorbia plant named &#39;bonpri 1069&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Euphorbia  plant named ‘Bonpri 1069’, characterized by its compact, upright and mounded plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; dark green-colored leaves; freely flowering habit; inflorescences with light pink-colored flower bracts; and good post-production longevity.

Botanical designation: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra.

Cultivar denomination: ‘BONPRI 1069’.

CROSS-REFERENCED TO CLOSELY-RELATED APPLICATIONS

Title: Euphorbia Plant Named ‘BONPRI 1049’

Applicant: Andrew Bernuetz

Filed: Concurrently with this application

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Euphorbia plant, an interspecific hybrid botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Bonpri 1069’.

The new Euphorbia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the program is to create and develop new interspecific Euphorbia plants with compact, upright and mounded plant habit and attractive flower bracts.

The new Euphorbia plant is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra ‘Bonpri 515’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,587.

The new Euphorbia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within a population of plants of ‘Bonpri 515’ in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia on Mar. 1, 2012.

Asexual reproduction of the new Euphorbia plant by terminal vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia since March, 2012 has shown that the unique features of this new Euphorbia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Euphorbia have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Bonpri 1069’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Bonpri 1069’ as a new and distinct Euphorbia plant:

-   -   1. Compact, upright and mounded plant habit.     -   2. Vigorous growth habit.     -   3. Freely branching habit.     -   4. Dark green-colored leaves.     -   5. Freely flowering habit.     -   6. Inflorescences with light pink-colored flower bracts.     -   7. Good post-production longevity.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia, plants of the new Euphorbia differ primarily from plants of the mutation parent, ‘Bonpri 515’ in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Euphorbia are more compact than plants of         ‘Bonpri 515’.     -   2. Plants of the new Euphorbia are more freely branching than         plants of ‘Bonpri 515’.     -   3. Plants of the new Euphorbia have smaller leaves than plants         of ‘Bonpri 515’.     -   4. Plants of the new Euphorbia are more freely flowering than         plants of ‘Bonpri 515’.     -   5. Inflorescences of plants of the new Euphorbia have fewer         flower bracts than inflorescences of plants of ‘Bonpri 515’.     -   6. Plants of the new Euphorbia and ‘Bonpri 515’ differ in flower         bract color as plants of ‘Bonpri 515’ have bright red         purple-colored flower bracts.

Plants of the new Euphorbia can be compared to plants of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra ‘Bonpri 1049’, disclosed in a U.S. Plant Patent application filed concurrently. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Euphorbia differ primarily from plants of ‘Bonpri 1049’ in flower bract color as plants of ‘Bonpri 1049’ have bright red purple-colored flower bracts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Euphorbia plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Euphorbia plant.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Bonpri 1069’ grown in a container.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet is a close-up view of a typical inflorescence of ‘Bonpri 1069’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Plants used in the aforementioned photographs and described herewith in detail were grown during the autumn in 12-cm containers in an outdoor nursery in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and under cultural practices typical of commercial Euphorbia production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures averaged 23° C. and night temperatures averaged 13° C. Plants were four months old when the photographs and the description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, Fourth Edition, 2007, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex     Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra ‘Bonpri 1069’. -   Parentage: Naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of Euphorbia     pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch×Euphorbia cornastra ‘Bonpri 515’,     disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,587. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—Terminal vegetative cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots, summer.—About ten days at 18° C. to             25° C.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About twelve days at 16° C.             to 20° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About three             weeks at 18° C. to 25° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About four             weeks at 16° C. to 20° C.         -   Root description.—Fibrous; white in color.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; medium density. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant habit and form.—Compact, upright and mounded plant             habit; inverted triangle; inflorescences positioned above             the foliar plane; vigorous growth habit.         -   Plant height.—About 24 cm.         -   Plant diameter or spread.—About 33 cm.         -   Lateral branch description.—Branching habit: Freely             branching habit, about five lateral branches develop per             plant. Length: About 18 cm. Diameter: About 4.9 mm.             Internode length: About 1.8 cm. Aspect: Mostly upright to             somewhat outward. Strength: Strong. Texture: Sparsely             pubescent. Color: Close to 143B.         -   Leaf description.—Arrangement: Alternate, simple. Length:             About 7.6 cm. Width: About 5.2 cm. Shape: Elliptic. Apex:             Acuminate. Base: Rounded. Margin: Shallowly serrate;             undulate. Venation pattern: Pinnate, reticulate. Texture and             luster, upper and lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent; rough;             matte. Color: Developing leaves, upper surface: Close to             darker than 137A. Developing leaves, lower surface: Close to             137B. Fully developed leaves, upper surface: Close to 137A;             venation, close to 144B. Fully developed leaves, lower             surface: Close to 137C; venation, close to 144D. Petioles:             Length: About 2.7 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm. Texture, upper             and lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent. Color, upper             surface: Close to 144A. Color, lower surface: Close to 144C. -   Inflorescence description:     -   -   Inflorescence type and habit.—Inflorescences are compound             corymbs of cyathia with numerous flower bracts subtending             the cyathia; inflorescences positioned above the foliar             plane.         -   Quantity of inflorescences.—Freely flowering habit; about             six inflorescences develop per plant.         -   Inflorescence diameter.—About 19.9 cm.         -   Inflorescence height.—About 7.3 cm.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Natural flowering season.—Plants typically flower during the             autumn and winter in Japan; inflorescence initiation and             development can also be induced under artificial long             nyctoperiod and short photoperiod conditions; early             flowering habit, plants flower about 50 days under natural             season conditions in Japan.         -   Post-production longevity.—Good post-production longevity;             plants of the new Euphorbia maintain good substance and             bract color for about seven weeks.         -   Flower bracts.—Quantity per inflorescence: About 21. Length,             largest bracts: About 8.4 cm. Width, largest bracts: About             5 cm. Shape: Elliptic. Apex: Acuminate. Base: Rounded.             Margin: Shallowly serrate; undulate. Texture, upper and             lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent; rugose. Aspect: Mostly             horizontal. Venation pattern: Pinnate, reticulate. Color:             Transitional bracts, upper surface: Close to 55C to 55D;             towards the apex, close to 137B; margin, proximally, close             to NN155A; margin, distally, close to 150D. Transitional             bracts, lower surface: Close to 56A to 56B; towards the             apex, close to 137D; margin, proximally, close to NN155A;             margin, distally, close to 145D. Developing bracts, upper             surface: Close to 54C; towards the apex, close to 54D;             toward the base, close to 63B; margins, close to 145D.             Developing bracts, lower surface: Close to 11C. Fully             expanded bracts, upper surface: Close to 65B; venation,             close to 144C; proximally along main vein, close to 65A;             margins, close to 145D. Fully expanded bracts, lower             surface: Close to 56C; towards the apex, close to 144C;             margins, close to 150D; venation, close to 144D. Flower             bract petioles: Length: About 9.8 mm. Diameter: About             1.7 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Pubescent. Color,             upper and lower surfaces: Close to 144A.         -   Cyathia.—Quantity per corymb: About twelve. Diameter of             cyathia cluster: About 1.2 cm. Height, individual cyathium:             Very small and undeveloped. Diameter, individual cyathium:             Very small and undeveloped. Shape, individual cyathium:             Globose; sessile. Color: Close to N144C. Nectaries: None             observed on plants of the new Euphorbia.         -   Peduncles.—None observed on plants of the new Euphorbia.         -   Reproductive organs.—None observed on plants of the new             Euphorbia.         -   Seeds and fruits.—Seed and fruit production has not been             observed on plants of the new Euphorbia. -   Disease & pest resistance: Plants of the new Euphorbia have not been     shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Euphorbia     plants. -   Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Euphorbia have been     observed to tolerate temperatures ranging from about 8° C. to about     40° C. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Euphorbia plant named ‘Bonpri 1069’ as illustrated and described. 